Reading Room Document

Authority of Senate Committee Staff to Depose Executive Branch Officers

There is no authority in the rules of the Senate, or in relevant statutes, for the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources to direct its staff to depose certain Executive Branch officials. Recent practice establishes that such depositions may be taken by Senate committee staff only when specifically authorized by a resolution of the full Senate in connection with a particular investigation. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/23121/download.

August 4, 1982